The Public Safety Committee voted to recommend naming the current police building in honor of long time Police Chief Ed Ellefsen. The action was suggested by Police Chief Dennis Veach. The recommendation will be presented to the full Council and details of the dedication will be concluded on approval.

"I think it is appropriate," said Chief Veach. "There is a whole list of very positive reasons. He was Chief here for nineteen years, that’s pretty well unheard of and unlikely to occur again. And, universally, people have told me, without exception, that Ed brought this department to be a professional, progressive police department. Certainly true that is due in great part to the personnel here, but Ed gets the credit for hiring them as well. I think the job that was done was remarkable."

The Committee also voted to eliminate a ten minute parking space that is located on Fourth Street at Main. The limited parking space was allowed while College Pharmacy was in business to facilitate patrons getting prescriptions filled. The space will return to normal two hour parking restrictions.

With Memorial Day only a couple a weeks away, most folks are lookin’ forward to the first holiday of the summer. The boats are bein’ scrubbed down and final plans for the annual trek to "the lake." ‘Course a lot of us just use the extra day for gettin’ those chores done that we’ve put off ‘till it warms up a mite.

Holidays are convenient in that they signal those seasonal rituals that we all seem to need remindin’ of. Memorial Day weekend seems ta fit naturally with Labor Day. A lot of what gets done on one gets undone on the other. Fortunately the ritual of swappin’ out screens for the storm windows has been eliminated from most chores. Technology has been kind to the home owner/operator. A true memorial to the efforts of the past.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Carthage Printing Services

My three kids are at it again, arguing about whose turn it is to tackle household chores. So far, this chore/privilege board I came up with a couple of months ago is a winner at our house. It’s not an incentive system like most charts; rather, it’s a simple way to keep track of who’s who in the job and privilege categories of day-to-day family life.

For a sturdy chore board, we use the following:

• 1 piece of white foam board, cut in an 18-inch-wide by 9-inch-long rectangle

• 6 adhesive-backed plastic hooks in bright colors

• 6 metal rings

• several plain index cards, cut in 1-inch by 5-inch strips with a hole punched at the top of each strip (one strip for each child for each chore and privilege). If you have, say, two children and six categories, you will need 12 strips.

• 4 one-inch magnet strips

• Markers and ruler

Before you make the board, discuss chores and privileges for a typical week, such as "set dinner table," "vacuum stairs," "choose Saturday bike route," etc.

Use a black marker to print the six categories across the top of the board. Draw vertical lines down the board to separate them. Under each category, attach a hook. Glue magnets to the back of the board.

Print names on each strip. You may want to color-code each name. For example, all of Scott’s strips would be printed in blue.

On each ring, attach strips for each child in the family.

On each hook, hang a ring with strips. The name appearing on top of each ring is responsible for the task-privilege in the category. For example, if Jennifer’s name is on top under "water the plants," it’s her turn. When she completes the job, she flips her name over the ring and the next child’s name appears. (Kids like this part best!)